Dresden Files 1932

The Looming Darkness

The Nazis set the time and place, and we set our trap. At least, we came up with a plan for a trap. Ian and Sam would stand in the open, and feign a negotiation while the rest of the team, including Joan, would lie in wait, looking for a way to jump the Krauts when the time was right. What we didn’t expect is for them to show up by water, and in a submarine, to boot. Their leader had Sammie tied up, and drugged, and he brought four armed goons with him. He wasn’t a very good negotiator, though, and Sam was able to get and keep his attention long enough for Ian to build up the fog, and the others to get closer.

Their leader got tired of being bested by Sam’s clever talk, and eventually kicked Sammie over the ledge, then ordered his men to open fire. That’s when things kind of fell apart. Jonathan Sean McKowl threw boxes. Sam Scott fired his pistol, to some small effect. Captain Ian Montgomery fired off cones of cold, ice shackles, and other spells. Sly attacked their leader. Joan of Arc went after one of the goons, with a sword! Basically, chaos ensued.

Were it not for the demon inside their leader, and their machineguns, I think we would have made shorter work of them. In the end, Joan of Arc’s sword did the job, slicing open the demon that had ripped its way out of the head Nazi. We dropped some of the goons, and unfortunately some of them got away – somehow making their way back to the submarine in all the commotion…lousy harbor police were too flat-footed to stop them.

Now, you might be wondering where Martin Kinkaide was in all this. We figured that we needed a get-away driver…doesn’t every team?…and left him hidden, in the car, on a street nearby. I guess I thought that the prolonged gunfire would draw his attention, but it seems that he, instead, had attracted the attention of a young(ish) lady who just happened to be wandering the street at 3am, and had become busy ‘helping’ her in the backseat of the car. That is, until a beat cop walked by and found the two, and arrested Marty for soliciting and retaining the services of a prostitute.

I suppose the next adventure will be deciding on whether or not to pay Marty’s bail.

I don’t understand why people choose to be so unreasonable. Did I have a beef with the bartender or his illegal establishment? No. Did I make that clear? Absolutely. So the guy threatens to shoot me? If that doesn’t deserve a sock in the mouth, nothing does. I’m glad my buddies were there to back me up, and we did a fine job of clearing the place out, and tracking down the Spaniards.

Those two, for their part, were a lot more reasonable than the bartender. We know there are Nazis involved in the theft, and we know they want their items – and so they went and took Samantha Reed hostagae so that we give them their stuff. Look, she’s a nice lady and all, but…

Okay, so we can’t let them kill her. So instead we’re going to get armed to the teeth, enlist some NYPD officers, and stake out the warehouse where they’re supposed to meet us at 3am…then we ambush them. Since I seem to have lost my mojo for talk, I’ll rely on the Thompson to do the convincing for me.

Days at the office tend to be of two types: either we sit around and do paperwork; or we get sent out on some errand that will, given some time in the field, generate lots of paperwork. Today was of the latter variety.

Hannover told us we were to investigate a break-in at the Museum of Natural History, and from the outset it seemed pretty routine – probably only warranted federal involvement because of all the permits attached to artifacts on loan from other countries. Anyway, Kincaide and I headed down there early and to see what the deal was, and were immediately met with some security guard who thought he was a G-Man…wait, I thought that was us? Anyway, we got the interview with Bob, the seeming dupe, and a list of the things stolen – artifacts supposedly from Moses’ tomb. That was worth noticing.

Bob’s story – with people walking through walls – was a little odd, sure, but for our experience not out of the realm of possible, so we called our…associates…to assist with things that might range beyond the typical list of perps and perp-generated behaviors.

Gandalf’s pretty straightforward…no nonsense from that one, and I have to admit that he keeps me on my toes – makes me think. He said he was some auras, or something along those lines, and that there might have even been some leftover evidence, in the form of coins, from the possible perps. Regardless, it seemed like Bob’s strange tale might not have been so strange after all.

After brushing some local cops aside we were met in the alley by Samantha Reed, and everything went pretty well downhill from there. First, she’s cute. Perky in look and demeanor. And so irritatingly persistent that she pretty much negates those qualities, settling in my mind as a royal pain in my neck. Kinkaide, on the other hand, can’t keep his eyes off her, and since he is the Creator’s gift to all women, we always get stuck with his booze-scented charm getting spread around like mayo. And like a few months back, when were were trying to keep that smuggling operation at the docks quiet, she ended up tagging along and making things difficult for us all.

Sly, who is anything but, had to get under her skin, as usual – but this time took it too far when he licked the broad! Who does that? So she’s three sheets to the wind, Sly’s cracking door frames with the chip on his shoulder, Gandalf’s trying to see the magical world side of things – whatever that means – and Kincaide’s chapped because Sami’s cross-eyed.

Off to the Plaza to find the Sanchez, or Bracomonte, or Mendez or whatever brothers, and then we find that box. And like I said, it seemed like a good idea – I mean, it’s a box, right? A dark, closed box. It’s in the room of the creeps were trying to find, and the place is torn to pieces, and yet the box, hidden, is closed. Evidence, anyone? Keys to the kingdom? If you want what’s inside, bub, you need…to…open it. So I did.

How could I have known? Who stores something like that in a box and leaves it in a hotel room? Oggie and Gandalf carried their weight, as usual – you should have seen how Oggie wrestled that bug and took the stings. Gutsy? Dumb? I don’t know: not me. All I know aside from the relative skill bug removal skills of the Keystone Cops with whom I associate, is that the Brothers need to be found and put through the process. And who ever worked over the room? We should figure them out, too, and see if they need a piece of the process, too.

That’s all I’m saying. I think we were smart to get out of the hotel before security and management showed up. Glad I didn’t leave our office number or card with them…

...his name is 'Phase Four'...

...take your pick...

Here’s a list of some of the finer points of 1932, a year of wonder for the world:

Japan occupies parts of China, and friction between Japan and the United States grows; Japanese militarists try to overthrow the gov’t there by assassinating the prime minister – they fail, and get slap-on-the-wrist punishments

The Soviet Union is hell-bent on industrialization, to the point that it’s rationing food in order to export crops to raise money to pay for industrial equipment & initiatives

Unemployment & economy-relateed unrest in the United States grow, to the point that people are killed in some riots across the country; the Hoover administration, although trying to cope with decifit spending and the raising of taxes, is seen as ineffectual

US WW1 veterans occupy the nat’l mall during the summer, protesting their economic hardship and looking for money from the gov’t

The Nazis gain power in Germany, to the point that in the fall, Hitler is negotiating with the president for what is expected to be his all but certain rise to power

While we don’t know yet exactly when during the year we’ll begin, there is a great deal of strife and angst across the developed world, to say nothing of the shadow/arcane world behind the scenes.